Fostering Collaboration and Innovation in Public Procurement
Collaboration and innovation are two driving forces that can significantly transform public procurement, making it more efficient and aligned with strategic goals. This article explores the key lessons from the SIPE (Scaling-Up Innovation Procurement in Europe) Conference, and their implications for public procurement policymakers.
World Café Session: Strategies for Scaling Innovation Procurement
The World Café session at the conference provided a dynamic activity for participants to brainstorm various strategies for scaling up innovation procurement. Participants were divided into rotating groups, each focusing on different aspects of innovation procurement, and were asked to provide their experience-based solutions and needs. The different working groups and their insights are listed as follows:
Policies
How can they help to scale up IP?
The group emphasised the necessity of political commitment and adopting a holistic approach to innovation procurement. The results highlighted the fact that without strong political will and a comprehensive strategy, efforts to scale up innovation procurement would remain fragmented and ineffective.
Collaboration
How can procurement organisations coordinate and cooperate to accelerate the adoption of innovation procurement?
The group advocated for the creation of a European roadmap to standardise processes and coordinate efforts at national and regional levels. This group highlighted the need for a unified approach to innovation procurement across Europe, suggesting that a common framework could help overcome barriers and accelerate progress.
Outreach
How can we engage and motivate public buyers not involved in IP?
The results were clear, by proposing to rebrand public procurement to make it more attractive to innovative talent and suggested involving citizens more directly in the procurement process. The group believed that by changing the perception of public procurement and making it more inclusive, it would be possible to attract new ideas and foster greater innovation.
Suppliers
How can we motivate and enable firms to build innovation capacity on the supply side?
The ideas focused on building capacity among SMEs and creating co-investment opportunities to support innovation procurement. This group stressed the importance of developing a supportive ecosystem where smaller enterprises can thrive and contribute to public procurement innovations.
Risk aversion
What are the root causes to it and how it can be reduced?
The proposed solutions to overcome this critical obstacle included better training, top-down communication, and the creation of a supportive regulatory environment. The group argued that by reducing the perceived risks associated with innovation procurement, more public buyers would be willing to engage in innovative practices.
Conclusion
This session underscored the critical role that collaboration plays in fostering innovation in public procurement. By bringing together diverse stakeholders—ranging from government officials to private sector leaders—the conference illustrated that effective collaboration can break down silos, encourage the sharing of best practices, and lead to the development of policies that support innovation on a broader scale.
Collaboration alone is not enough to successfully implement innovation procurement. It is essential to include in the scaling-up strategy also a strong political commitment, standardised frameworks, and an inclusive approach that attracts diverse talent and ideas.
Source: SIPE Conference Insights Report
